Boobs-and-Butt Pose

She got it good in the front and in the back!

"[T]he only 'strong' in many 'strong female comic book characters' are the oblique muscles required to point their ass and boobs in the same direction."

— Cracked, "The 5 Most Ridiculously Sexist Superhero Costumes"

Often in fiction, a Ms. Fanservice character or model will be depicted in a pose with her back to the audience, but turning at the waist and often looking over her shoulder in the process. It's a common pose for a few reasons:

1. It lets you see the character's face. Having her look at the audience is more engaging.
2. It can be used to give a coy impression ("I see you back there...") or to make the character look mysterious.
3. Alternatively, it may be intended to invoke a submissive or vulnerable image.
4. Shows that the character is supple and limber.
5. As the name suggests, it lets you see the character's butt and chest at the same time, so both Butts and Boobs fans get what they want. If it's trying to be anatomically realistic, the "Boobs" part will usually be restricted to Sideboob.

While this pose is possible to achieve in multiple variations in Real Life, in fiction it can get exaggerated to the point that the character's torso is almost pointing backward. If the fanservice is more blatant, she will probably be sticking her butt out and curving her spine vertically rather than merely twisting sideways. This is a longstanding trope that's a staple of fan service. In recent years, however, many see framing a woman with her butt and breasts facing the viewer as objectifying and as prioritizing sex appeal over badassery, especially since this is practically a women's only trope. Many of the less exaggerated poses are plausibly doable, but there are still also many examples of this trope that defy both physics and anatomy. This is primarily the reason why, in its more exaggerated forms, it's a popular pose with non-live action media.

Compare Contrapposto Pose, Head-and-Hip Pose, Coy, Girlish Flirt Pose and Leg Cling. Also may be combined with Dynamic Akimbo, which is typically associated with manliness, which is why women may get framed with this trope so that they still look sexy.

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Examples:

Advertising

• The Japanese poster◊ for Ghost in the Shell (1995).

Anime & Manga

• Himiko Kudo from Get Backers does this a few times. Heck, she is confident enough to do this while her clothes are severely damaged and her hands are handcuffed.
• Sailor Moon has Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter often doing this on The Merch.
• Tiger & Bunny demonstrates that the T&A pose is not just for women◊.
• Nico Robin on the cover of the 44th volume of One Piece, noteworthy for a series that otherwise focuses 99 % of its Male Gaze on the breasts only.
• A minor antagonist in One-Punch Man gets a pin-up as the cover for the 6th issue in this pose.
• In episode 30 of the HD Remaster of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, Talia Gladys has this pose when she was showering.
• In Ninja Slayer, resident Ms. Fanservice Nancy Lee has been known to do this in some promotional artwork, and occasionally the show as well. Here's exhibit A◊ and exhibit B.
• Tokyo Ghoul is notable for adopting an equal opportunity stance on this pose. Bonus artwork involves Nutcracker in this pose, but other pieces have featured protagonist Ken Kaneki posing like this in his underwear or wearing a distinctly bondage-inspired Sexy Backless Outfit. In-series, Nimura Furuta is drawn in this pose while turning to speak to an associate.
• Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro: The Art's Club President (real name Sana Sunomiya) painted a nude self-portrait in this pose. Nagatoro and her friends are shocked to learn that Senpai continues to keep it in the club's room (he claims that he does for its artistic value, but Nagatoro doesn't buy that).

Arts

• The Ur-Example for this trope may be Judith by Jan Sanders van Hemessen, circa AD 1540. A notably Rubenesque example, at that.
• Diana by Paul Manship. The goddess is running full-tilt in one direction while twisting her body around so she can shoot at the unseen Actaeon (subject of a separate statue) who's directly behind her.
• Male sculpture example: Henri Peinte: Orphée endormant Cerbère◊.
• Office at Night by Edward Hopper, of all people.
• The artist Luis Royo sometimes does this in his works◊. Note that these are probably NSFW.
• From the Demoscene: Aztec by Suny.
• Boris Vallejo tends to emphasize the woman's bottom in many paintings of females, and does this in many works. (The current page image is his work.)
• Alphonse Mucha’s poster art of attractive women in abstract Art Nouveau frames generally don't include poses such as this, but they do feature in some of his works.◊
• Grande Odalisque (1814) by Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres: Thanks to Artistic License – Anatomy, it's possible to appreciate the woman's breasts despite her having her back turned to the viewer.

Comic Books

• Tarzan, in a 1972 print of Marvel Comics' Tarzan of the Apes, performs a rather prominent example◊ of this pose. In fact, that particular issue featured quite a lot of expository shots of Tarzan buck naked.
• A Battle Chasers #1 variant cover shows Red Monika posing in this way.
• Rob Liefeld is an artist well known for drawing busty women posing in such a way that you can see their ass and breasts at the same time. As they use to say on the late lamented ScansDaily, "anatomy doesn't work that way".
• Anything drawn by Terry "boobs-and-butt" Dodson. An issue of Generation X featuring a watermelon-based duel between Emma Frost and "slutty space Snowhite" probably takes the cake.
• For many years Psylocke (at least in her McNinja form) did this in almost every panel that features her (to the point where this might be her actual secondary mutation). Seriously, look her up in Google Images and you'll find several shots in this position; so often that many artists and fans actually call this the "Psylocke Pose".
• Ms. Marvel on occasion.
• Luke Skywalker is depicted this way in one issue◊ of Star Wars (Marvel 1977).
• If you're looking for a male character who consistently gets drawn like this, then Nightwing pretty much has a lock on the role. The guy's ass is so recognizable it was an actual plot point in one issue.

• Ed Benes seems almost incapable of not drawing women this way.
• Averted in the page image of A-Force. According to one of the writers, it was intentional.
• Lady Death is generally shown on the cover art in what are essentially stripper poses, so it should be no surprise that there have numerous over-the-shoulder ones as well, though the result◊ may end up looking a bit silly.
• Wonder Woman (1987): Mike Deodato's art is rather stereotypical of '90's comic art, and includes a number of questionable cheesecake poses. Perhaps the most notable is when he has Artemis's back arched to show both her rear and chest in full in a theoretically sensual pose when she's being fatally shot.
• Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman:
  • Adam Hughes' lovely cover for #4 has Diana twisting to show off both cheeks and both breasts at the same time. He makes the cheesecake pose look almost graceful.
  • There's a game cabinet in "Wonder World" which depicts a woman swiveled at the waist in the style of Kate Beaton's "Strong Female Characters" from Hark! A Vagrant.

Fan Works

• The Hawkeye Initiative is a viral collaborative work in which many fanartists mock this by replacing the female character with a male one. Most often it's Hawkeye in his garish purple outfit from the 80's.
  • Nightcrawler's not happy about it, apparently.
• Jim C. Hines did the Cover Posing project, where he reenacted various science fiction, romance, and comics covers, where several images contained variations of this pose. A typical example.
• Nui Harime attempts this while disguised as Satsuki in Natural Selection in an effort to rile up Ira as she tries to jut out breast, hip, and butt all at once.

Films — Animation

• Much of the Disney Princess merchandise has some of the girls doing this, especially Aurora and Cinderella.
• The Incredibles. Elastigirl is infiltrating the Supervillain Lair and encounters a mirror. She poses briefly in this manner, then sighs in exasperation, having put on some weight since her retirement as a superheroine.
• Batman: Hush. Batman is chasing Catwoman across rooftops, and at one point she turns to look back at him while still keeping her behind (which of course is in a tight catsuit) pointed in his direction. Behind her is the Gotham skyline.
  Catwoman: Like the view? It's the only thing you'll catch tonight.

Films — Live-Action

• Idris Elba strikes a male version of this pose in the posters for the 2022 film Beast. As demonstrated here.◊
• Even in this theatrical poster◊ of Divergent, a movie whose protagonist's supposed to be a rebellious badass young woman.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Scarlett Johansson strikes this pose in the Iron Man 2 posters. Have a look.◊
  • Scarlett Johansson did it again in a promotional photo◊ and a poster◊ for The Avengers. The second pic was even on IMDb's mainpage to advertise the SuperBowl trailer, but it was replaced by something else. This was parodied by artist Kevin Bolk on his take on the Avengers poster where the whole cast save Black Widow do the B&B pose. Interestingly enough, though, the final film poster and DVD/Bluray cover has her in a forward-facing pose, while the male Avenger doing the classic B&B pose is the Hulk.
  • If mystical constructs count, the Destroyer from Thor pulls one off after Mjolnir is restored to Thor.
  • Official posters of Captain America and Bucky Barnes for Avengers: Infinity War provide Rare Male Examples and were widely discussed as such prior to the film release.
  • The official poster for Spider-Man: Far From Home had Spidey himself in this—and he's a teenager!
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit:
  Jessica: I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way.
• Society: One of the few truly Justified Tropes in a Body Horror way. For example, Jenny showers with both her breasts and buttocks facing the same way.
• Tomb Raider (2018): The first theatrical poster features Lara standing with her back to the viewer and looking back over her shoulder. The problem is, it's clearly a rushed photoshop that makes her neck look anatomically impossible. Some people even offered a corrected version on social media.
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Baroness in the film poster.
• A promotional poster for Piggy (2022) portrays a blood-spattered Sara standing by the stranger's van in this pose.

Literature

• The cover of Sabina Kane: Red-Headed Stepchild has the heroine in a standing form of this pose, with a gun stuck through her belt.
• The cover for Warhammer 40,000 novel "Rise of the Ynnari: Wild Rider" shows the faction's leader Yvraine striking this pose with both her chest and rear in view, even though the latter is covered with a skirt.

Live-Action TV

• Played with on 3rd Rock from the Sun when Harry teaches Sally how to pose. His explanation is that men like women who look "sleepy and paranoid".
• Several of the promotional pics for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have used this◊ to show off Summer Glau's rear end.
• Six◊ from Battlestar Galactica.
• Discussed by Victoria Coren Mitchell on QI, after which she attempts to help host Sandi Toksvig to demonstrate the pose.

Music Videos

• In this clip, the English version of Carameldansen, one of the dancers must have a spine made of rubber to do some of the moves on the video.
• Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda"◊, the cover of which shows her squatting with her back turned to the viewer, wearing only a thong. Minaj is also notable for popularizing an all-fours variation on this pose◊ in the same video, lifting up her butt while directly facing the viewer.

Pinballs

• The fourth edition of TRON: Legacy replaces the original backbox display with one featuring Quorra and Gem standing back-to-back in such a pose.
• In Eight Ball, "Pinky" adopts this pose on one of the triangle bumpers.
• Seen on one of the girls on the "Babewatch" table of Pinball Illusions
• The redhead in white shorts takes this pose on the playfield for Breakshot, while the brunette adopts it on the sides of the backbox.
• The Machine does this on the side of Jack*Bot's backbox, though she's standing up.
• Technically, Chun Li in Street Fighter II is adopting this pose in the backglass. Too bad the artwork is so atrocious it's a turn-off for most players.
• The backglass for Rollergames features one of the "T-Bird Twins" (Jennifer and Kristine Van Galder) taking this pose.

Podcasts

• Spring from Sequinox does one when she notices Caiden taking pictures of the girls at the end of episode 2, mainly to try and conceal her real identity (since Hannah would never pose like that).

Tabletop Games

• The picture for the Dragonmarked Heir prestige class in the Eberron book shows a half-elven woman in a backless dress posing like this.
• Magic: The Gathering card artworks:
  • Archangel of Strife
  • Fathom Mage
  • Kiora, the Crashing Wave
  • Pristine Angel
  • Sigarda, Host of Herons
  • Staggershock
• Lady Ninja Yae's card in Yu-Gi-Oh! looks like her picture was taken in this pose mid-leap while about to kick someone.

Theater

• The original poster art for Sweet Charity was Gwen Verdon doing this pose wearing a Little Black Dress with sheer black tights, with her right arm on her hip and her left arm showing a character-important tattoo.

Video Games

• Darkstalkers: Felicia's victory portrait has her posing like this, turned enough that her butt and the front of her breasts are visible at the same time.

• In KanColle, Teruzuki's standard pose is turned away while reaching back towards the player with her left arm, which with the help of her high rudder heels mostly accentuate her legs.

• Rio has her back turned in Operator's Side's cover art, with her head turned towards the viewer and her breasts and butt in display.

• The art of several blades in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 have this to varying degrees. Praxis, T-elos and Theory are the only ones putting any effort to pull this off while Agate shows a more realistic amount of boob in her from behind shot. Dahlia's breasts are just so large that any shot of her butt is automatically a boob & butt pose.

Webcomics

• Kevyn Andreyasn struck this pose while talking to Ch'vorthq during the "Old Habits Die Hard" arc of Schlock Mercenary's sixth book.
• In SwordCat Princess, this pose is used for varying effect; in this example, it is meant to underscore sexual "heat" between Kathryn and MacKnight, even as she uses a broken window to chop off his hand to recover her ring. In this example, to underscore Kathryn's ability to split her focus and fighting skill into different extremities simultaneously.
• Girl Genius:
  • Agatha.
  • Zeetha, Daughter of Chump.
• Mocked in Super Stupor with the Snow Owl, who has Green's Disease ("It's where all your joints are ball joints and you spasm into poses.") In one pose she manages to rotate her torso a complete 180.
  Lady Diamondback: That pose offends me both as a woman and someone who knows how spines work.
  Killhuna: Isn't that Liefeld Syndrome?
  Lady Diamondback: No, L.S. shrinks your head and feet and causes sexual arousal around pouches.
• Commissioned Comic — "Tits, ass and lens flare!"
• Tasteful Comics has a superhero "Boobs And Butt Always Visible Lass". Three guesses at her superpower.
• A rare justified example in The Noordegraaf Files. The character in question is a Dryad, and therefore is completely naked. She can't be viewed from a front-on view (as her genitals and nipples would be visible) and a back view wouldn't show her face, so this is the pose the artist opted for.
• Hark! A Vagrant:
  • "Strong Female Characters" and its followup. Even when it's anatomically impossible to pull off.
  • Of all people, Prince Albert did this pose for a portrait given to Queen Victoria on her birthday in this strip. Naturally, Victoria loves it.
• Parodied in Curvy with Starbreath, a female superhero who got a painful spine injury while doing this pose.
• Grrl Power has this infrequently, with one strip in particular lampshading it, labeled as "Dabbler-Approved T&A Pose"
• Gyno Star gets this treatment after being zapped by Alpha-Male/Male Gaze Man/The Objectifier. Mocked, of course.

Web Original

• Kevin Bolk (Trigger Star and I'm My Own Mascot) brings us:
  • the ultimate in Comic Book Chicks (and cites Escher Girls).
  • Also by Kevin, a triple-dog-dare results in Master Chief doing the pose in his version of the Zero Suit.
  • He also did a gender-flipped version of one of the Avengers posters.

Websites

• "This needs to stop... and let me tell you why!" — an article by a martial artist and a contortionist from childhood, posted examples of these he says he cannot repeat, along with of photographed poses he can do.
• Escher Girls is a Tumblr dedicated to warped female anatomy in comic books, and this pose is a common one there. Even the blog's favicon depicts a girl (Amy Rose) twisted like this. In fact, it's so common that they had to narrow down the definition — they only count it as a full Boobs And Butt Pose if you can see both boobs and both buttocks at once. Luckily, there are other tags for masterpieces like the page image, such as "serious swayback," "rubber spines," and "runaway breasts."
• Cashoo, a Tumblr user, posted a rebuttal to the aforementioned Tumblr blogs by physically demonstrating several plausible examples of "Boobs and Butt" poses which they say they felt no discomfort holding. They also provided anatomical references both male and female, for any artists interested in using similar poses.
• The Hawkeye Intiative: see "fan works" above.

Web Videos

• Atop the Fourth Wall: Linkara will not hesitate to blast the use of this whenever it comes up.

Western Animation

• Parodied in The Amazing World of Gumball's episode "The Comic". In the Laserheart comicbook, the titular character often turn his lower body at 180° so the reader can see his pecs and his butt. Gumball even comments that making such a pose is not possible.
• Total Drama: Katie and Sadie dance together in hopes they'll get to represent their team at the talent show that evening in "Not Quite Famous". Towards the end, Katie has her butt turned to the camera while her upper torso is twisted far enough sideways that not just her boob is visible, but also her belly button.

Real Life

• Betty Grable was famous for this pose◊. It was the favorite of American soldiers in World War II.
• Lena/Lenna, the most common face photograph used in image analysis and computer vision, is the top part of this pose from the centerfold of November 1972 Playboy.
• This is pretty much the signature pose of Brooke Adams.
• While she isn't wearing a revealing outfit (even by the days standards), the girl in the famous VJ Day Kiss quite frankly puts several fictional examples to shame. It should be noted, however, that that sailor grabbed her at random and assaulted her to make that happen.
• The Kardashian sisters. They are particularly famous for their "wet look" on magazine covers.

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